57. Fredo was brilliantly played by John Cazale, a fine actor who was suffering from terminal cancer

during the filming. The director knew he was dying (see the last scene of his when he's talking to Michael but is lying down on a reclining chair) and shot his scenes around his ability to work that day. Cazale was constantly cared for by Meryl Streep with whom he was in love. She cared for him until the moment he died.